Judge James S. (“Big Jim”) Halpern has a repeat visitor, Joseph DeCrescenzo, T. C. Memo. 2023-7, filed 1/12/23. Joe was here ten (count ’em, ten) years ago; see my blogpost “NOL a Nullity,” 2/27/12. The results of the encounter therein described echo, in giving Joe chops for the underpayments of tax arising from his ignoring that decision, but Joe escapes the remaining accuracy chops that IRS wants to wild-card in.

Joe wants to quibble about the SNOD he got, claiming IRS has no jurisdiction to assess tax against him, fails to make a determination as to him, and contains information about others. These Judge Big Jim kicks to the curb; he does give Joe a going-over on his opening brief. Read T. C. Memo. 2023-7, at p. 3; don’t let this happen to you.

But all that Joe and his trusty attorney are arguing is the validity of the SNOD. And as long as the SNOD has the tax and the year, that’s enough. Judge Big Jim tells the story at pp. 14-16.

Joe gets a $5K Section 6673 frivolity chop, based on his ten-year-old visit to Tax Court. But IRS fails to negate any reasonable cause or good faith argument Joe might have had for his uncontested miscues. As IRS raises all the accuracy penalties in the answer, IRS has BoP. IRS never asked Joe about reasonable cause or good faith on the trial, so did not sustain BoP.

Note to a colleague: Mr. Press, this was one of yours.